Dreams of the Forgotten (3 page)

Ushna's Lupe, the third form of half-man and halfwolf that all Lycan warriors used for battle, pushed forward as his need to protect took over. Short, fine, black hair burst through his skin under my hands. His chest and arms thickened, his face elongated, his mouth populated by jagged teeth, and fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws, careful as he delicately held me in his protective arms. He growled loud and long in warning.

The light switched on, flooding the room with blinding white light. I heard our friend, Gregori, in the background yelling in anger, followed by a hollow thumping noise, and wounded yells. I scented who'd invaded our bedroom before I gazed over Ushna's shoulder.

Several weeks ago, Elder Koller had made a call to pull childhood friends of ours, Stanley Kendall and Jory Swaine, from California. The suggestion had been made after the Magi Triad had tried to kidnap both Gregori and Ushna. The elder knew these two were men I trusted. We had been expecting them at any time and I would've laughed at their antics if I wasn't worried Ushna would eviscerate our friends.

Gregori, his red hair wild, clad only in blue sleep pants, had a fistful of Stan's dark hair and a foot planted in the middle of his back, bowing Stan over backward. Gregori wielded a shoe like it was a Sumerian sword and beat Jory with it. Jory tried to defend himself against the onslaught of the shoe and fight off the two guards who were attempting to subdue him.

"You stupid idiots!" Gregori yelled at the top of his lungs. "You could've hurt him, you oversized oafs! What's wrong with knocking?!"

"Ushna is going to eat you and I should let him! It would remind you to respect your alpha!"
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
"Senseless overgrown children!"
Half a dozen guards filed into the room, taking charge of Stan and Jory, relieving a bedraggled Gregori. Scowling furiously at our friends, Gregori gradually crawled onto the bed, talking soothingly to Ushna, who hadn't stopped growling. I ran my hands down his furcovered back to soothe him.
"Everything is okay, Ushna," Gregori cooed.
I cupped my hands around his face, gazing into his ruby red eyes. "I'm okay," I whispered to him, "come back to me."
He released the Lupe, and Ushna the man emerged, the harsh and horrific features melting away. His body shuddered, muscles clenched and convulsed as his control returned.
It'd been years since I'd seen our two friends. Where Stan was dark, Jory was light. Stanley Kendall had wavy dark brown hair that roughly covered his brow, but not quite touching his collar. His eyes were so brown they were virtually black. He sported a couple days growth on his chin and cheeks. The stubble looked good against his bronzed skin.
Jory Swaine, on the other hand, had short blond hair, was clean shaven with bright turquoise eyes and golden skin. Stan was broader through the chest with his athletic build while Jory was leaner. Both wore leathers; though Jory's pants where looser, hanging lower on his hips and showing the waistband of his boxers, while Stan looked like he was poured into his.
Ushna turned a furious gaze on Stan and Jory, who were standing in the farthest corner, appearing chastised and contrite. "What in the hell were you thinking!" He roared at them. Gregori and I made shushing noises but Ushna continued to rumble.
"Ah… surprise?" Stan offered weakly, slightly confused.
"Ushna, it's okay, they didn't know," I said.
Ushna snapped his human teeth at our friends. I swear if we'd been alone, I would've jumped and taken him right there.
"Xenres, are you injured?" Corey Bahar was the first of fourteen warriors who had sworn a blood oath to me. He'd been Captain until this unexpected growth of the tribe and now he was the newly appointed Arms Master of the Royal Guard. In private, he was most adamant in the use of my title, Xenres, which meant prince in our language. Corey didn't take his onyx gaze off Stan and Jory as he approached me. The man looked like he'd been up for hours with his braided blond hair gleaming, clothes pressed and tucked. Did he ever sleep?
Jory chortled at Corey's words, which caused Gregori to throw a shoe and bean Jory in the head.
A string of curse words exploded from our friend. "Dammit, Gregori! What the hell was that for?" He rubbed the sore spot.
Gregori didn't answer Jory. Corey's question was all it took to make Ushna start snarling again as he ran his hands over me, checking for obvious injury. Gregori rubbed small circles on Ushna's back. I grabbed his hands and craned my head around to get him to look me in the eye, to see me.
"Hey, hey! I'm okay. I'm not hurt." I kissed his hands.
"I want Nathan to look at you." Ushna's worried gaze continued to study me. Nathan Janick was my brother and the resident doctor who meticulously cared for me during my pregnancy.
"All right." I knew nothing less would appease him.
Stan watched our exchange. The longer he listened, the more confused he appeared. "What's the big deal?" He crossed his arms, scowling hard. He and Jory had acted as they normally would around us, with carefree roughhousing.
I grabbed Ushna's attention before he could bark back a reply. We'd purposely kept my pregnancy within my inner circle. I hadn't left the Clearwater area, which was my territory. When I needed to go to town, I wore a ring Gregori had made for me, a
ring of illusion
that had hidden my swollen stomach. I didn't meet with outsiders without it.
We hadn't told Stan and Jory. All communication had gone through Elder Janus Koller, who'd recruited them to work for the Elder Council in his Enforcement Division. Neither Ushna nor I had spoken to these two before now. Needless to say, we hadn't anticipated their
surprise
.
"Master Corey," I calmly said, "we're all right. I'm sorry we woke you." I needed privacy for the talk we were going to have with our old friends.
The Arms Master gave a slight bow. The expression on his face let me know we would be revisiting the issue of posting guards outside the bedroom. I had been successful at convincing Corey that the small group of warriors staying in the house was enough security. We didn't need someone standing on sentry duty in the hallway. To appease Corey, I had even agreed to allow an armed detail shadow me around the ranch when I left the house. This stunt of Stan's and Jory's would make Cory feel vindicated in his original assessment. I would have to talk quick at the next security meeting to keep the arrangements the way they were now.
"It was no bother, Xenres." Corey shot Jory a hard look when my friend snorted a laugh. He appeared to be gauging whether Jory was being disrespectful to me or making fun of him. "I won't be far if you need me," he said before closing the door behind him.
Jory tried to hide his smirk by rubbing a hand over his face. I knew what was coming before he opened his mouth. "Damn, Tristan. You've got people bowing and scraping to you. What've you been doing?"
Instead of answering, Ushna moved off of me, letting them actually see me for the first time in years. On my chest was a pair of double-helix snakes, the tails starting below my navel to twine around each other, up the center of my stomach and my chest, with the heads arcing around to face each other over the tops of my pecs. Each had a yellow eye looking outward. The twin snakes were covered in iridescent scales striped black, green, and blue. In short, I carried the Caduceus, the mark of the God Enki, Creator of Enkidu, who was the Father of all Lycans. This emblem marked me as their Xenres, their Prince.
Gregori handed us each a pair of sweat pants. Ushna turned toward Stan and Jory, letting them see his Caduceus, silvery white with red eyes, a match to mine and just as impressive. Jory laughed into his cupped hands and Stan swore loudly with fists planted on his hips as he studied us.
"So when were you going to tell us?" Stan asked, the hurt evident in the tone of his voice. "Dammit, Tristan! How long have you known? And what the hell? Are you two fucking now?"
Jory smacked Stan on the chest with the back of his hand. "Dude! Are you blind? They were
naked
in bed together. Ushna was on top and the room reeks of sex. Don't be dense. By the way, Tristan, when did you get that fuckin' fat?"
I glanced away from my friends. Jory's words stung. Sure they didn't know… but damn! This meeting wasn't turning out as I'd anticipated.
Stan threw his hands in the air. "I'm not dense! It's one more thing on top of what they haven't told us! We're supposed to be brothers, and all of a sudden we can't touch him, and people are bobbing like marionettes around him. I'm not bowing to you, squirt!" Stan's finger stabbed the air in my direction.
"I don't expect you to!" I said infuriated. I knew they were both hurt. Stan would work himself into a temper before we had a chance to tell them what had happened. Reading Ushna's body language, our dark-haired friend would be eating his words if he didn't calm down.
Gregori stepped forward and lobbed another shoe but Stan ducked. The size thirteen's slammed into the wall with surprising force.
"Stop throwing shoes at us, Gregori! What the fuck is your problem?" Stan bellowed, coming back up from a crouch.
"What the hell do you have to be pissed about? If we were so important, where the hell were you the last eight years? I'll tell you where. Not! Here! So don't act offended when you aren't included in what's happening. If we were important to you, you would've stuck around, or kept in touch."
Jory stepped forward, all the laughter gone. "We're supposed to be brothers but Tristan kept secrets from us, hiding the fact that he's a prince…"
Ushna moved in front of me protectively. "You're calling yourself our brother? Brothers come when they're called for help. After all of the things he's done for you over the years, you didn't bother to be here when he needed you! So don't go throwing stones, Mr Fucking Perfect. Selfish asshole," Ushna growled.
"Just because we have lives elsewhere doesn't mean we aren't concerned with what was happening here! What the hell is wrong with you?" Stan snapped back.
"Tristan dumped his Twin Flame. It doesn't mean I have to…" Jory didn't get to finish his rant because Ushna launched himself at Jory. What shocked me the most was when Gregori attacked Stan.
Stunned beyond words, I stood among my friends, my family, as they fought each other. When I'd found out Janus Koller pulled Stan and Jory from the Marduk Tribe in California where they'd settled after college, I'd been ecstatic. We were going to be back together again. On a deep fundamental level, their return had felt right. Never in a million years would I have believed their homecoming would include a brawl in my bedroom.
Stan tried to fend off Gregori without hitting him, and seemed as shocked as I was that Gregori was fighting. Gregori was a gentle soul. Starting with our first change at puberty, he'd stopped roughhousing and become a defender. He never fought if he could help it, and never, ever had he struck out in anger. Here he was, trying his best to fist fight with Stan, who was easily blocking the blows. Gregori hadn't fought like this since he was a pup.
Jory and Ushna, on the other hand, were rolling around on the floor, trading quick, hard blows. Before I said anything, Corey and his captain, Juan Ybarra, came hurrying back into the bedroom.
Juan, who was one of the fourteen core warriors I trusted, had become a good friend to Gregori the last couple of months. He immediately went to Gregori and wrapped around him from behind, effectively pinning Gregori's arms to his sides. As Juan pulled the angry redhead away from Stan, he whispered soothingly into Gregori's ear.
Stan glared at Juan, lips thinned and pulled back from his teeth, as he scrutinized how Juan wrapped around Gregori. Without warning, he lunged for Juan, grabbing the Warrior's arms, endeavoring to loosen them from around Gregori, hissing words to Juan I couldn't hear.
Stan's interference only seemed to incense Gregori more. A furious spitting growl erupted from him as he kicked out at Stan. Juan ignored Stan as his full attention was on calming Gregori. He walked Gregori backward away from Stan.
"I said put him down!" Stan yelled before tackling both of them to the floor.
Corey dove between Ushna and Jory, pulling Jory away too enthusiastically. Jory slid like an eel out of Corey's grip, kneeing Ushna in the face.
"Enough!" I bellowed. Everyone in the room froze in time, immobilized as I held them in the grip of the
Alpha Bond
. Ushna groaned, holding his bleeding nose and rolling to his side. I weaved through the chaos that was my family and knelt next to him. I'd been more hurt than angry at everyone until I saw Ushna's blood.
I released the binding. "Gregori. Stan. Jory. All three of you go to the kitchen and
together
make breakfast for all of us. I cannot express how incredibly disappointed I am in all of you. Ushna and I will meet you in the kitchen after I have tended to him."
I helped Ushna to sit up, holding the bridge of his nose for him. Nobody made a move toward the door.
"Out!" I bellowed.
Jory was the last one to the door, making an effort to look nonchalant.
"Jory," I called before he closed the door. Hesitantly he glanced back at me. "The next time you cause harm to Ushna…"
"I…" he started but I didn't want to hear his excuse.
"Never again, Jory." I made my voice flat and hard. I turned to him, and held out my blood-covered hand, forcing him to see what he'd done. "Hear my words; keep them with you for I won't repeat them a second time. Never again will I wear Ushna's blood because you hurt him."
Jory stared at my hand before looking up into my unyielding eyes. My predator pushed to the surface, showing himself to my friend, wanting to be free, to protect what was ours. Jory dropped his gaze and offered his neck in submission.
I turned my back to him and helped Ushna to the bed. The door softly snicked closed behind me. "Let me grab a wash cloth," I mumbled before I hurried to the bathroom.
At the sink, I washed Ushna's blood from my hands, scrubbing until my skin was pink. All I could see was red staining my hands, pooling on the floor under him when he'd been shot. It didn't help when I closed my eyes and the memory became clearer. I reminded myself he wasn't dying on the living room floor. That happened months past. He was fine. All he had was a bloody nose, nothing more.
I opened my eyes and I could still see blood on my hands. I scrubbed harder. If I couldn't get…
"Tristan!" Ushna cupped my face, tilting it to see my eyes. There was drying blood on his nose and face. I reached up and tried to wipe it off. A pained whimper escaped my lips.
"You gotta stop, Tristan." Ushna grabbed my hands, holding them trapped against his chest.
I inhaled deeply, ignoring the coppery smell of blood and concentrated on taking in the scent of him, of us, into me. "I'm fine. It's all right." I stared into his eyes. "Let's clean you up and go deal with those fools in the kitchen." I gave him a wavering smile.
I reached for the washcloth next to the sink, but he took the cloth from my fingers and quickly cleaned off his face. I hovered; my hands moved over his while he wiped his face down. When he finished, he pulled me into his arms and merely held me. I tucked my nose into the crook of his neck, and took the comfort he offered, relaxing into his embrace and running my hands down his strong back.
We needed to get to the kitchen. For all we knew, they'd already killed each other. The reunion wasn't supposed to be like that. Stan and Jory left for college and never came back. There were infrequent visits in the beginning, but those quickly dried up, the travel between California and Bahbelle being too expensive and inconvenient.
They were home with us again, and everything had gone to hell in a hand basket within five minutes of their arrival. They'd changed more than I'd anticipated. Jory was cynical and callous. Stan was withdrawn and angry. I hadn't known Gregori was furious with them.
The group hadn't brawled like that since we were pups. Not since the death of our childhood friend and Ushna's Twin Flame, Brian.